The FBI believed Hillary Clinton and her aides broke the law by using an insecure server to email classified data, yet drafted an exonerating statement even before the probe was over, according to several Republican senators.

The unnamed Republicans on key congressional committees looking into the Clinton probe have uncovered passages in FBI documents stating that large amount of classified data that passed through Clinton’s private emails was proof of criminality, The Hill reported. By doing so, the lawmakers have confirmed and expanded on earlier reports in the US media.

“The sheer volume of information that was properly classified as Secret at the time it was discussed on email (that is, excluding the “up classified” emails) supports an inference that the participants were grossly negligent in their handling of that information,” said a draft FBI statement from May 2, 2016, according to a source who has seen it. The “grossly negligent” wording, supporting a criminal charge for mishandling classified information, was changed to the more palatable “extremely careless” in later versions of the statement, according to The Hill.

In July 2016, then FBI Director James Comey said he would not pursue charges against Clinton despite more than 110 pieces of classified data transmitted through her insecure private email server. The decision was explained by the fact that the agency was unable to prove that there was an intent to break the law by Clinton and her staff.

The Republican sources also told The Hill that a key witness in the case has admitted to making false statements. His name was redacted from the FBI documents, but the person in